Thailand Seeks ‘Green’ Industrial Alliance as India’s Middle Class Set to Double
Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun targets a consumer boom in India, pledging support for Thai giants including CP and SCG amidst a $20bn trade surge
- Thailand is targeting India's consumer market, which is set to boom as its middle class is projected to grow from 500 million to nearly 900 million by 2035.
- A key part of the strategy is to form a "green" industrial alliance by promoting Thai eco-friendly building materials to support India's sustainable urban development.
- The Thai Commerce Minister is leading a push to integrate major Thai conglomerates, such as CP and SCG, into India's supply chains, focusing on the food, petrochemical, and construction sectors.
- This initiative comes as bilateral trade surged to over $20 billion, with the Thai government pledging to help businesses overcome hurdles like India's complex product certification process.
Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun targets a consumer boom in India, pledging support for Thai giants including CP and SCG amidst a $20bn trade surge.
Thailand’s Minister of Commerce, Suphajee Suthumpun, has concluded a strategic summit with six of the kingdom's largest industrial conglomerates in Mumbai, signalling a major push to integrate Thai firms into India’s rapidly expanding supply chains.
The minister held talks with senior executives from Thai Oil, GPSC, SCG, CPF, CP, and Shera to address the opportunities and logistical hurdles of operating in the subcontinent.
The discussions centred on a demographic shift of historic proportions: India’s middle class, currently numbering 500 million, is projected to swell to nearly 900 million by 2035.
"India is a market of immense scale and growing significance," Suphajee stated following the talks. "The rising purchasing power of the Indian middle class presents a critical window for Thai goods—particularly in the food, petrochemical, and innovative construction sectors."
While the outlook remains bullish, Thai business leaders cited the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification as a primary obstacle.
Although recognised as a necessary measure for quality control, the minister acknowledged that the "rigorous and intricate" nature of the process has occasionally hindered the fluidity of the bilateral supply chain.
Suphajee pledged that the Ministry of Commerce, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the network of Thai trade commissioners (New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai), would seek a more streamlined dialogue with Indian authorities to ease these bureaucratic frictions.
A cornerstone of the 2026 roadmap is the promotion of "Green Building Materials."
As India pursues aggressive urban development with a focus on sustainability, the minister highlighted that Thai firms are uniquely positioned to provide eco-friendly solutions to support India’s environmental objectives.
The current trade mission, which included a delegation of 17 Thai companies, has already facilitated 271 business matching sessions, generating an estimated $3 million in trade value within the first year alone.
The strategic importance of the subcontinent is underscored by the latest trade data.
In the first 11 months of 2025, bilateral trade between the two nations surged by 28.5%, reaching $20.3 billion.
Thai exports, led by gemstones, vegetable oils, and automotive parts, saw a remarkable 40% year-on-year increase, totalling $14.7 billion.
In addition to supporting industrial giants, the 2026 strategy includes an aggressive expansion for SMEs through Indian e-commerce platforms and the staging of "Top Thai Brands" exhibitions to cement Thailand’s presence in the world’s most populous nation.
